Sunday essay links, you built that edition

...which makes for an
interesting point of view on Robert Epstein's arguments
for regulating Google. (But imagine that the
company was filing huge amounts of paperwork with
the US Department of Google. How would anyone ever
displace them?)

Jason Hreha asks, When
did addiction become a good thing?As members
of the tech industry, we need to ask serious questions
about the behaviors that we are promoting. Are we
really helping people live better lives? Or, are
we promoting suboptimal habits and aptitudes? At
best, many of the products we’re building are time
wasters. At worst, they’re the addictive equivalents
of cigarettes — irresistible cheap thrills that
feel good in the moment, but are destructive in the
long run.
(via naked capitalism)

Laura Noren reviews
“Addiction by Design”, by Natasha Dow Schüll.
Addiction by Design is as compelling as a horror
story—a sad, smart horror story that calls off
the Luddite witch hunt (Down with the machines!) in
favor of an approach that examines the role of gaming
designers within existing social systems of gender
and class disparity.

“Intervention”
Is Inevitable When The Government Has A
MonopolyOne of the most important
inputs to the production of broadband networks
is rights of way—permission to dig up public
streets and attach cables to public utility
poles—which in most cases are under the control
of local governments. That means that “don’t
intervene in the market” is a non-sensical
position when it comes to broadband. (See also:
<a="http://zgp.org/~dmarti/freedom/property-rights/">Property
rights and net neutrality.)